More than 200 firms disappear from top 500 asset manager list in ten years

Nearly half of the firms featuring in the world’s top 500 asset managers have disappeared from the list over the past decade, as the industry continues to grow in size amid ongoing consolidation.

According to recent research by Willis Towers Watson's Thinking Ahead Institute, out of the 500 names that featured in its Pensions & Investments 500 list ten years ago, 221 names were absent in 2021, demonstrating a "quickening pace of competition, consolidation and rebranding". By the end of 2020, assets under management reached new heights of $119.5trn - an increase of 14.5% on the previous year, when total AUM stood at $104.4trn. Of the top 20 firms, 14 are US managers and account for 78.6% of this echelon's AUM. BlackRock retained its position as the largest asset manager in the ...